Mike Raynor Records 100th Win on Final Day of Buzz Classic
4/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
BOX SCORE Game 4 - Mercer vs. James Madison - W, 3-1
BOX SCORE Game 5 - Mercer vs. Seton Hall - L, 6-2
WODOSTOCK, Ga. – Mercer Bears head coach Mike Raynor became just the third coach in school history to win 100 games after the final day of the Georgia Tech “Buzz Classic” on Sunday. The 100th win in just Raynor's fourth year, came in a 3-1 tilt against James Madison.
Raynor reached the 100-win mark in remarkably much the same fashion as former coach Tony Foti. Foti reached the mark in his 21st overall game in his fourth season in 2005 and the JMU game for Raynor represented the Bears 21st of the 2010 season. Raynor now stands at a perfect 100-100 in his four years in Macon and currently holds the highest winning percentage of any coach in school history.
The Bears under Raynor have also quickly become one of the premier teams in the Atlantic Sun conference and are coming off their best season in school history.
“I am just proud of my dad and what he has done so far,” assistant coach Page Raynor said. “It's been great to be a part of it.”
The Bears however played another game on Sunday and the eventful win was evened out by a 6-2 loss against Seton Hall. For the tournament Mercer finished up going 3-2 overall and placed 12th out of 21 teams in the three-day event and junior pitcher Jenni Holtz was rewarded for her efforts by being named to the all-tournament team.
The James Madison victory played out much of the same way Holtz's last four starts went by outdueling the opposing team's pitcher. Holtz posted her fourth consecutive double-digit strikeout performance by retiring 10 JMU batters and only giving up four hits and one run. In her last four starts, Holtz has struck out 45 batters and given up only two runs.
Sophomore Lilli Luke again had a good day at the plate against JMU going 1-for-4 with an RBI. Luke drove in the Bears only RBI on the day as Duke pitcher Cara Stecher walked in two additional runs in the top of the third. Luke has six RBI's on the season.
The three runs in the inning gave Holtz the run support she needed for the Bears 14th win of the season.
In the second game against Seton Hall, Holtz would get the start but could not continue her dominant tournament performance as she went three and two-thirds innings giving up nine hits and six runs. Mercer's offense in the tournament could only generate seven runs in total and continues to be a point of improvement as the season moves on.
Sophomore Kristen Marko and senior Stacey Condra knocked in the two run for the Bears in against the Pirates in the bottom of the fifth and seventh innings respectively. It was Marko's sixth and Condra's seventh of the season.
The Bears will travel to Greenville, South Carolina this Wednesday for a non-conference game against Furman before heading to another tournament next weekend at Georgia Tech.
